Curating Personal Projects

You’ve been shooting a personal project for a while and you’ve built up a collection of media - photos, videos, and notes stacked up on your hard drives.
But how do you know when you have enough? And how do you choose what to present to the world?
This is all about message. What do you want the project to say? What’s its point? Why does it exist? 

The origins of your project could be buried in exploration - visually, physically, or conceptually. Or you might have begun with a very definite path in mind. Sometimes I feel the need for travel, for adventure, I get the itch and along the way I find meaning as the project evolves. Other times I have a clear idea before I start shooting, of the message, the topic, and what I’m trying to achieve. Both routes are valid but having some rationale in mind before setting out can save time and provide guidance for your journey.

There are two sides to this coin. Some pre-planning makes curating later a little easier - you’ll have a vision of your final outcome and should begin to record media that align with your idea. But along your journey, if things don’t look like they do in your mind, you’ll need enough flexibility to pivot and find other options for reaching your goal.

Think about what has moved you to make the work? What kept you coming back? What is the personal appeal to you? Before you can unleash your art on the public, your message must be locked down. So, consider what you’ve documented. Who’s in the frame? What is their plight? Is it positive or negative? Why should the viewer care? What is the common thread that connects the characters or elements in your project? 

Now distill these answers down to the simplest emotional truth. For example, a story about migration could become a story about a mother’s separation from her children, a series about marathon running could become a project about the human body at the limits of its capability.

With these ideas at the front of your mind, begin cutting anything that does not firmly underpin your narrative. Be brutal. Every frame should reinforce the message that you’re giving to your viewer. They don’t all need to be obvious, subtlety can work too, but they must be relevant. Including media that is not in line with your message has a cost, it’ll dilute your theme and confuse your audience, causing them to disengage.

Now that you’ve finished cutting work, take a look at what’s left. If you’re showing still images twenty is enough for an online gallery, and perhaps 100 for a book. If your project is moving image, perhaps you’re making a 15 min piece, which would require a few hours raw footage. Is there enough there? Do your selects support your mission? If not, get back out there and keep shooting!